President Putin is no enemy to Europe and can work successfully with the US on solving the Syrian crisis, the former Israeli PM Shimon Peres told RT. He also shared his vision concerning the Middle East peace process and fighting extremism in Europe.

Peres, a 93-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner and Israeli political heavyweight, spoke to RT’s Paula Slier, who mentioned the fact that he met Russian president Putin on multiple occasions.

“I understood that actually, that Putin has in his heart, a wish not to fight Europe, but to be part of Europe,” Peres, a former Israeli President and Prime Minister said, apparently referring to the recent heightened tensions between Russia and the EU … //

… In regards to Islamic State (IS, previously ISIS/ISIL), Peres does not think that the terror group will last long, while their ideologically backward agenda makes no sense whatsoever.

They’re not a state. They’re a non-state [group] that wants to win wars, for example, against crusaders.

“I’d tell the gentlemen they’re a bit too late. How can you win over crusaders?”

In the meantime, Europe, which has recently seen a string of deadly terror attacks organized or claimed by IS, “has no choice” other than live in peace. He stressed that science and education might help prevent extremism and radicalization among youth.

“Muslims are a religion,” he stressed. “The problem is that many terrorists call themselves Muslims … we have really to enable young generations of Arabs and non-Arabs to enjoy [what] the age of science [offers].”

Peres served as the ninth President of Israel from 2007 to 2014, and twice as the Prime Minister of Israel. He has also been a member of 12 cabinets in a long-lasting political career spanning over 66 years since the very foundation of Israel in 1948.

Video – Julian Assange special: Do Wikileaks have the email that will put Hillary Clinton in prison? (E376), 27.50 , RT, Aug 6, 2016: Afshin Rattansi goes underground with Julian Assange. We talk to the founder of Wikileaks about how the recent DNC leaks have no connection to Russia. Plus what are Hillary Clinton’s connections to Islamic State, Saudi Arabia and Russia? Here are some of Assange’s most insightful lines …;

Refugee Deal at Risk: Europe Takes a Soft Approach on Erdogan, on Spiegel Online International, by Jörg Schindler, Michael Sauga, Sven Röbel, Maximilian Popp, Christoph Pauly and Horand Knaup, Aug 5, 2016: despite Turkish President’s crackdown on opponents in the wake of the failed coup attempt, German Chancellor Angela Merkel is calling for strong continued ties to the country. It may be the only way to preserve the EU’s crucial refugee deal;

Erdogan’s Putsch: Turkey’s Post-Coup Slide into Dictatorship – part 1, on Spiegel Online International, by Nicola Abé, Dieter Bednarz, Onur Burçak Belli, Eren Caylan, Konstantin von Hammerstein, Veit Medick, Peter Müller, Maximilian Popp, Roland Nelles, Christoph Schult and Samiha Shafy, July 22, 2016 (Photo Gallery): Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is taking advantage of last week’s failed coup to consolidate his power. As the country slides into a dictatorship, there is a lot at stake for the West. But the effects in Turkey itself promise to be far greater;
Part 2: A Parliamentarian Preparing to Die;
Part 3: Erdogan’s Archenemy;
Part 4: NATO Fears and Nukes;

Requiem for the American dream, on RT, June 10, 2016: … (this) is a definitive discourse with Noam Chomsky, widely regarded as the most influential intellectual alive, on the defining characteristic of our time – the deliberate concentration of wealth and power in the hands of a select few …;